The Beach Boys and America kick off Gulf Coast’s summer

Memorial Day Weekend marks the beginning of summer on the Alabama Gulf Coast, as thousands of visitors begin streaming to the area’s beaches. The Amphitheater at The Wharf in Orange Beach will welcome summer with a concert featuring America and the legendary Beach Boys.

The Beach Boys are celebrating 50 years of such enduring hits as “Good Vibrations,” “Kokomo,” “Surfin’ Safari” and “California Girls.” The current lineup includes founding members Mike Love and Bruce Johnston as well as drummer John Cowsill of the band The Cowsills, said by many to have been the inspiration for the fictional band The Partridge Family. In a recent interview with Lagniappe, Love discussed the band’s long history as well as its timeless music.

Mike Love (center) and the rest of The Beach Boys will kick off the summer with America at The Wharf Saturday.

Centanni: It’s been 50 years since the Beach Boys’ debut album. What goes through your mind when you consider that you’ve been doing this for 50 years and still manage to have a very successful career with a full tour schedule and packed houses?

Love: What goes through my mind is that I’m very thankful, grateful and blessed for our long-running career. I and my cousin Brian wrote many of our biggest hits together in the early to mid-’60s up to “Good Vibrations,” which was the largest-selling single of the ‘60s. Coming up next year will be the 50th anniversary of “Good Vibrations.” I’m still thankful that people still want to hear The Beach Boys’ music.

I can’t remember a time in my life when there wasn’t music. I grew up in a house with a grand piano, an organ and a harp. I had two sisters that played the harp, and we all took piano lessons. On every holiday and at every birthday party, there would be music. The older folks had their music, and we had our rock ‘n ‘roll and Everly Brothers and doo-wop. It’s just wonderful to be able to do as a profession what used to be a family hobby.

Centanni: Not everyone has been to the beach, but The Beach Boys’ music has found its place in the hearts of thousands of people who have never been seaside. Why do you think that is?

Love: I think the sound of our music and the beats and the melodies and particularly the harmonies have a warmth to them. We originally got together to sing, not because we thought we’d be rock stars and not because we thought that we would make a lot of money. No, it was because we loved getting together and harmonizing. I think that love of the harmonies is what comes through the music. That’s has to be a partial explanation of why our music would appeal to people in Germany or Japan. In other words, in places that they don’t even speak English, they have no idea of what we’re talking about when we sing our car songs or our surfing songs, for that matter.

It’s the beats, the sounds and the whole concept. Who wouldn’t want to go on a surfing safari? It sounds good. In fact, in “Surfing U.S.A.” I wrote that “If everybody had an ocean across the U.S.A., then everybody’d be surfing.” Well, I knew that everybody didn’t have an ocean. We’d also do songs about cars, because everybody loved cars in the ‘50s and ‘60s. We did “409” and “Little Deuce Coupe” and “I Get Around” and “Fun, Fun, Fun.” Those are all songs that were composed with the idea of some great cars in mind and the shenanigans that young people would resort to when they borrowed their daddy’s car. They didn’t cruise to the library. They cruised to the local hangouts. People still come of age and still get their driver’s licenses and still like the hot cars. Nothing has changed. The years have gone by, but the dynamics are similar.

“Be True to Your School” is all about the energy and spirit involved in Friday night football with the cheerleaders and everything else. We were able to put some of these ways of life into song. They’re identified by our original fans from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, yet the young people still like those songs too. We have children that come out and sing all the words to our songs. We can see them singing along in the audience. I’m talking about 9-year-olds. We’re very fortunate to not only have a career that has lasted a long time, but also successive generations of fans. Some were turned onto us through “Full House.” Our friend John Stamos had us on his show a few times, so we’re recognized from our appearances on (the TV show).

Centanni: You’ve got John Cowsill from The Cowsills in the band. To me, The Cowsills always pop up in the most random places.

Love: (chuckles) Yeah!

Centanni: How did he end up as the drummer for The Beach Boys?

Love: Well, he originally came into the band and started playing piano with us, but his forte is drums. He was the youngest member of The Cowsills and the drummer. I must say, he’s the best drummer that we’ve had in a long time. The original drummer was my cousin Dennis Wilson, who drowned and passed away. Obviously, we’ve had a couple of drummers over the years, but John has been drumming for us over the past couple of years. He’s a damn good drummer, and he’s a damn good singer too. He’s a huge contribution to our band.

Centanni: Three years ago, you got back into the studio to do “That’s Why God Loves the Radio.” What was it like writing new material for the band?

Love: It was good! In fact, that song in particular, listening to the harmonies in the studio booth being played back, my cousin Brian and I agreed that it was like 1965 all over again. It wasn’t “Pet Sounds” and it wasn’t “Smile.” It wasn’t “Surfin’ Safari,” but it was right in the mid-’60s. It was a really nice concept, but there were some issues involved in doing the rest of the album. Originally, I was told that I was going to be able to write songs with Brian, but it was never to be. I was disappointed in that. Back in the day, Brian and I would write a song, and it would become a hit. Although I was told that it was going to be possible to write with him, it never happened. I was not happy about that at all. By and large, from a fan and audience point of view, it was great that we did something together.

Centanni: You’re playing in Orange Beach, and we consider Memorial Day Weekend the official start of summer on the Alabama Gulf Coast. Y’all are the proper kick-off for that. What kind of beach party can we expect?

Love: Everything from “Surfin’ Safari” to “Kokomo” and all things between. Is America on that show?

Centanni: Yes, they are.

Love: Yeah! Well, there’s gonna be a lot of music there. They’ve got a lot of hits, and we’ve got some as well. It’s going to be an evening of lots of music. The audience is going to get more than they bargain for, I think.

About The Author

With the exception of two years spent at Auburn University, Steve Centanni has spent his life in Mobile County while focusing on his two passions: music and the written word. As soon as he was issued his driver’s license, Centanni began to explore the local music scene in the early ‘90s.
He filled his weekend with visits classic local venues such as the Four Strong Winds Coffee House, Vincent Van Go-Go’s and Culture Shock, all of which welcomed those who had yet to reach 18. After high school, Centanni traded Mobile for Auburn to complete his B.A. in English with an emphasis on general writing.
While at Auburn, he had the honor of studying under the Pulitzer-winning poet Natasha Trethewey, who served as the nation’s Poet Laureate in 2012 and 2014. After receiving his diploma, Centanni quickly moved back to Mobile and completed the University of South Alabama’s graduate program with a M.Ed. Eventually, he was tapped by the nationally distributed Volume Entertainment Magazine to serve as the magazine’s managing editor/senior writer.
His time with Volume allowed him to exercise his love for both music and writing. As Volume began to fade, Lagniappe recruited Centanni as their Music Writer and later their Music Editor, where he has remained for a little over a decade.
As far as his involvement in the local music scene, Centanni organized Cess Fest at the Langan Park, which was a mini-festival focused on original local music in a time when original local music was veritably taboo in Downtown Mobile. For a short time, he brought original music to Downtown Mobile as the in-house promoter for the now deceased venue Cell Block. He managed local underground powerhouse Fry Cook, until the members parted ways. Centanni has lent his bass to bands such as Keychain Pistol and The F’n A-Holes, and he toured nationally as a member of Abstract Artimus & the Torture Children.
Currently, he provides vocals for the garage blues rock outfit Johnny No. Ultimately, Centanni’s experience in the local music scene as both a participant and an observer has allowed him to witness the ever-changing persona of Mobile’s enigmatic music scene, which continues to leave him with more questions than answers.